


love lies bleeding

by awkwardhesitations



Category: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Non betaed we die like men, alucard and granger are emotionally constipated idiots, i make them suffer a little bit here, oH THE PINING is real, the lightborn gang in the house boissss, the pining, this fic may kinda of show why i love natalia jsksjs the bias
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23840443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardhesitations/pseuds/awkwardhesitations
Summary: a brief observation on the dynamic duo of the lightborn- alucard and granger.
Relationships: Alucard/Granger (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang), Natalia/Tigreal (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 66





	love lies bleeding

**Author's Note:**

> it's,, this fic has been brewing for a long time coming  
> i worked on this while writing linglong on the side jsksjs
> 
> whoops
> 
> non betaed as usual

it was their thing.

it was unspoken, always subtle in it's ways. it grew on the group after some time- knowing not to disturb them together, having their moments. always underlying within the atmosphere, the tones of familar camaraderie. completing each other's sentences when they were in good moods.

people can look at them and say, 'oh, it's just another couple', but when you've known them for long enough, 'oh, it's _alucard and granger_.'

somehow it wasn't just simply calling their names, no. it had their click to it, and rolled off the tongue easily. fools say it's fate, it's destiny. they have long accepted and moved on. it's like their names belonged together.

they never cared to identify it; but they did acknowledge it- it was exclusive in some way, only to them. a strange mix of friendship, yet some moments were too intimate to be still branded that. his name felt strange and foreign when mentioned with some other name that wasn't alucard. in their own world, people said. sometimes alucard drifts to granger's scar, his fingers millimeters away from the scarred tissues over his eye, a gentle caress, an indescribable emotion on his face. granger lets him, even though he's averse to touch. 

silvanna comments to herself that even time has stopped around the duo, and took it's pace with them. 

it was always them two, twined together, like two peas in a pod. since young, until now, a few decades in their lives and a lot of emotional turmoil on both sides-

the group knew not to ask at times. his eyes will flicker and meet granger's when someone mentioned the moniyan castle- granger will unconsciously hover closer to alucard whenever the group had missions in swan lake- they never flaunted it, and kept it to themselves, but the way they gravitated towards each other was unmistakable. 

they've a lot of untold secrets that will follow them until their death, kept between them forever, like what happened in the moonlit forest, on march 4th, five years ago. or the 'incident' with the tar, when they first started working together. there's a plethora of hidden jokes and references that no one else will get. they didn't have much banter (okay, maybe they did, but it was probably alucard holding one-sided conversations with himself anyway and granger listening) and no public displays of grand love in any form- granger was averse to alucard's affection.

they were mismatched, but they fit into this pair, after years of tolerance and friendship, completing each other's loose ends and complimenting flaws. this easygoing limbo, the unaffected state they were in most of the time while together- many will know as 'the alucard and granger', the yin to the yang, but in a less poetic way. it was more rough, more bloody than normal love stories.

this didn't mean they lost their own meaning and became exclusive to each other, no- they weren't a picture perfect couple, alucard being playful and boyish while granger snarled at anyone who got too close to him- they meshed together in a messy, but pretty way- some people may say it was even aesthetic.

the trust in them was unbreakable- it never wavered, like an anchor in stormy seas, it still held the boat in place. it just stayed. when alucard talks about granger, his lips often turn into a fond smile- eyes sparkling and what not. granger allows a hint of fondness to flash past his eyes when he talks about alucard ( _'..insufferable idiot.'_ )

they were a scary pair in the battle, their reputations preceding them, having worked together and learnt each others moves for years. tigreal once said watching them fight was like watching them dance a swift tango- they knew each other so well by now, darting in and out in a mannerism one dare say graceful- barely taking any damage. sometimes alucard starts the fight and granger finishes it and the cleanup, one beautiful shot following another.

and then miya came in the picture. she was a nice girl- a lot of people respected her and for a valid reason- but then they began to see some cracks in their solid foundation. alucard got in a sweet relationship with the moon elf; granger reclused himself, lashing out at anyone who came too closer- alucard used to be the exception; the other half became frustrated at much lest everything- it was a difficult time for everyone at the time. they no longer worked on missions together- granger requested to have someone else and no one really had the guts to deny his request.

it left alucard looking so forlorn and lost at the time- the group had to intervene with his drinking problem. there was one night where he got so intoxicated and he banged on granger's door, sobbing hysterically and promptly passed out when granger opened up.

things were never the same after what everyone dubbed as the 'breakup'. the aftermath was disastrous, granger almost quitting lightborn, alucard breaking up with miya. the group didn't know what to do. both sides were reluctant to talk- and it was awkward being in a room with both of them, that ther entire group had to pitch in efforts to solve their emotional messes- it was affecting their team morale, and team composition long enough that silvanna decided on interfering.

alucard denied their help; but he did see the mess they were causing in the group- the dynamic that was well solidified in the lightborn has started falling apart, decaying at the edges. fanny- of all people, the wildcard of the group, the loudest girl alucard had ever known- started tiptoeing around their quarters, unsure whether alucard will throw a drunken fit at her, quietened her voice to whispers before granger noticed and snarled at her. tigreal and silvanna had problems coping with the sudden loss in their teams- the missions they went on weren't successful at times; something they never had to experience when alucard and granger worked together, and they had their boots to fill when they worked with each one of them at the cost of injury.

then the sudden, and rather foreign arrival of natalia came. tigreal introduced her to the lightborn- a slight fondness in his eyes and a hint of a smile at the fiery-haired assassin. she was temporary, yes- but that didn't stop her from tearing apart the lightborn's mechanics that worked from the start.

( _your strategies need tweaking, she says. 'i'm an assassin- there's no way to include stealth in your current state. and trust me- stealth helps.'_ ) to everyone's surprise, the original leader of the group sits silent and listens to natalia's ideas- absolutely crazy, fanny fumes, after natalia shuts her down during the meeting at a snide remark. harith feels uncomfortable. and alucard and granger are still stuck in there own chess game of emotions, playing their own game.

the lightborn may have fallen to pieces.

however, as one would hate to admit it- the change was good for them. natalia took on the role as oldest when tigreal wasn't present, relieving fanny's duties. harith liked natalia at times- she had cold humor, and it was amusing. it wasn't long before fanny bursts in the dorm and announces that oh my heavens, natalia and tigreal were together all along. silvanna snickers.

the strategies did work. stealth helped- a lot. natalia infiltrated enemy bases, collected useful intel, and had them prepared against their enemies, a tactic that proved itself useful after many occasions. or she'll just do solo assassination missions again, despite tigreal's obvious worry.

'it's natalia. open up, or i'll kick down the door.' harith hears, as the female assassin stands up in front of the door no sane person will walk up to. '-go away.' the traveller's about to warn natalia- no one wants to deal with an angry granger. 

'do you want me to go to alucard first?' her voice is steely, her foot tapping on the floor impatiently- she has no time to deal with two emotional kids.

to harith's surprise- and fanny who just came in- granger opens the door by a slit. she shoots her gaped audience a look, and slips inside.

later, silvanna hears about natalia making a certain visit to a bar- that alucard frequents. she hears it from tigreal- wrinkles at the ends of his eyes from laughing too hard. the antics of his partner- he hopes by passing the mantel to her, the lightborn would restore it's former glory.

slowly, very slowly, the group sees the duo become one again. it's tentative- it's been almost an entire year after the 'great breakup'. they could be in the same room together again. no fights. alucard wasn't that drunk anymore- granger could work in lightborn again. it was both a miracle and a relief, as silvanna cautiously paired them up on a mission again. 

they stayed. 

the dynamic between the demon hunter and death chanter still felt off, however. it felt like the pieces that they once were were just haphazardly glued together, and then taped, the rough edges smoothed out hastily with sandpaper- they were still civil, but-

there's this sorrow and serenity in granger's eyes. it's like he's made closure with some unchangeable fact- some reality. alucard doesn't smile that much. at least they're on talking terms, the group reassures themselves. it'll be fine soon.

and that's where natalia, the ever so amazing assassin comes back into play again. it's almost the time that natalia leaves lightborn again- she only came temporarily, at tigreal's request.

fanny sees her meet granger in the back of the hall- her overlooking the balcony in the golden sunlight, while granger stands awkwardly behind her. 

( _'well. it's my time to go- and my problems are almost, nearly fixed.' used to the constant silence from the marksman, natalia proceeds to her point. the moniyan looks lovely today. 'and there's one, teeny, tiny problem that hasn't been solved yet... you probably know what it is. don't you?' now she turns. granger meets her eyes, the ever so stony, calm pair of black orbs. 'no?' she prods, and the man continues looking at her._

_'look- i've known my methods are cruel at times, and straightforward. that's how i get my kills and my principle- that you've known over the past few months. do i have to say that out loud, in the reverberating halls of the moniyan palace-' 'no.'_   
_there's a smug smirk on the female's face- she doesn't even bother hiding it._

_'i'm doing this for the integrity of the team, and not for your personal suffering, i assure you.' the man shoots her a very icy look, with equal parts of skepticism. 'i'm serious. the black dragon raid is timed with alice's attacks- zilong has told me some intel to be prepared for it,' and natalia's voice has no more jest- it's back to her serious tone, 'and this is majorly affecting the lightborn's ability to defend our empire.'_

_'well. you've always been a quiet man anyway, it was nice knowing you. but get your stuff together- emotional baggage, sort out your.. **feelings** \- and at least, for moniyan's sake, don't put the empire at risk of your feelings.' the redhead turns to leave- preferably for her next assassination, or to see tigreal, her silver claw glinting in the sunlight._

_'take care, will you?' she says, right before she disappears into plain sight down the hallway. natalia's eyes soften slightly from her cold gaze, like she's in on the secret too. like she understands granger's dilemma._

_watching her slip away, granger thinks she probably knows too. the damned redhead._ )

natalia departs the lightborn. harith hugs the woman- the mother he never had; for fanny, the comrade to take care of the unruliness in the group. tigreal kisses her on the cheek lightly- harith mimicks a vomiting sound behind them at their affection. 

alucard seems uneasy around her- the only few things that can ruffle the demon hunter's feathers, before she drops the scary act and bursts into laughter. granger watches her silently- their eyes make contact, and it's half of pity and sympathy. i don't need your pity, he thinks. 

natalia dashes off- and they only can hear the click-clack of her boots before it also fades into the distance.

_'look, granger- silvanna's on a diplomatic trip, tigreal is nowhere to be found, i'm accompanying harith to the moon elves and he can't be left alone. you're the only one-' the ginger head tries her best as she keeps harith nearby, while speaking in the phone._

_it's an attempt. 'no.' there's a stony silence at the end of the line, and fanny knows the marksman's about to hang up- 'wait, wait! seriously- granger!' she waits for his response, but there is none. she curses him inwardly- they're meeting karina in a few moments and she can't be occupied._

_'you know alucard can drink himself to death- seriously, granger, i have to go really soon. natalia's on her solo mission and you're the only one i trust enough.' there's a audible sigh on granger's side- fanny fist pumps in the air in triumph. 'okay, okay, harith- don't run everywhere- get him home safely, yeah? bye-' the line cuts off._

granger slumps back onto his seat with an insufferable groan.

he can never understand how someone like alucard has such a capacity for alcohol. sure, he himself enjoys a few shots of vodka once in a while- but he will never understand how his comrade chugs that in his system in copious, certainly unhealthy amounts, almost everyday.

granger stops at the normal bar he visits. oh god, does he really want to do this? masochist, he muses bitterly. i'm such a masochist. bracing himself, he takes a deep breath before stepping in.

kadita welcomes him, always as cordial. he spots aurora and layla behind the counter, cleaning glasses and freezing drinks- karrie, his long time friend, nudges him in the direction of alucard- she always knows.

it's a free day today for everyone- that means it's extremely packed, and with familar faces everywhere. he doesn't like this. more people to see him carry alucard out again. 

such a way to embarrass yourself.

zilong waves hi- him, ling and baxia are having a few drinks at a booth. passes by freya and masha having a drinking battle- and masha is winning the unwinnable. no one has bested the warrior before- until now. 

ah.

well, at least fanny predicted right. alucard, that fool, drinking himself to death again. gusion's by his side- claude, the thief, a taunting smile on his face, on the other- he glares at the latter. the blonde is slumped over the table; granger wonders how many shots he took. the assassin answers that for him- it's a new record tonight.

sighing, he kicks alucard on his shin. claude is shooed out of the room, and the ever so considerate assassin, gusion leaves too. it's only alucard and granger now, under the hazy red lights and the empty shotglasses.

like it always has been.

'come on, you idiot- fanny's worried.' alucard's heavy- especially when he's leaning all his weight on the marksman. it takes some moments for granger to successfully haul him up me out of the booth, before making his tedious way to the door, with all the stares.

'g..grangerh? is that y..you?' he's slurring and hiccuping, alright. kadita sends him a sympathetic glance, and assures him that he can cover the bill later. he accepts it thankfully- granger has to get out of here now.

ling's looking amused. karrie's laughing with layla at the counter. ah, mortification indeed, an old friend to come visit him.

'i- this is a, _hic_ a dream, right? hic granger won't come find me- h, he never does a..any, _hic_ more' saying so, the latter nuzzles closer to granger, his breath against the skin of the marksman's neck- granger can smell intensely fruity tangs of alcohol.

'idiot.' he says in response- learned to train himself not to melt into a weak mess as alucard nuzzles closer, swaying precariously. ' _hic_ \- granger in real life- doesn't _hic_ love me anymore.' his heart nearly stops. 

it's rather cold tonight- the winds are blowing strong. granger wonders absentmindedly whether it's to do with vale and his problems with valir again, as the demon hunter leaning on him huddles up closer.

oh god. 'mreh- take, take off.. this thing-' his fingers reach up to drunkenly nudge at granger's high collar. ' _alucard_.' the latter mutters, a warning. the syllables cautiously bouncing off his tongue. it's been a while since he's said it. the demon hunter goes quiet at the mention of his name, dreadfully silent.

the moment breaks when alucard lets out a drunken giggle, trying to boop granger on his nose. granger wonders if all the ladies that crushed over this idiot ever seen this side of him. tries to suppress the small feeling of pride in his chest. 

'look, do you want to make a deal?' he says, using all his willpower to seemingly ignore the male hanging off his arm. the blonde perks up in response. 'i get you home, but you must be silent on the way.' the wind ruffles his hair (and granger decidedly doesn't choose to look at it) as alucard tries to process the complicated terms.

'do you love me?' the unexpected question stills his heart, his thoughts. he brushed off the wave of bitterness that has arisen in his throat, swallows the tears down. would you ask this question, if you were sober? tear my heart apart and bath in it's blood, if you knew? 

unaffected by granger's sudden silence, alucard continues. his hiccuping has stopped. 'hey, stranger. does- does granger love me?' it's a little weird, asking a stranger if his crush loves him, but alucard doesn't seem to care. he's drunk right now, he has drunk rights.. what were they called again? the stranger looks awfully like granger, has the same scar over his eye-

granger sighs as alucard vomits into the bush. doesn't even look, his arm holding up alucard's bent back. they've been in this position too many times to count- but for this time, fanny owes him a fuckton of drinks. for putting him through this emotional turmoil- he pats alucard's back soothingly, as well as it can soothe, at least.

thankfully, it renders alucard silent, as they soldier their way to alucard's house. granger reaches for the door key under the mat (always that predictable, even though granger has told him many times to change it). the door slams shut behind him, as granger nudges off his shoes, dragging alucard to his bedroom. he's been in this situation so many times he can navigate through this blind- it's not something granger is proud of.

alucard mumbles and babbles gibberish all the way to the bed, a warmth on granger's left shoulder. he tumbles into the covers, automatically snuggling with the pillow; granger feels his heart twang at the sight, affection filling it to the brim before he forcefully suppressed it down.

he tears his eyes away from alucard's figure on the bed, illuminated by the gentle rays of the moonlight shining through the crack in the curtain, his features lighted up in all the right ways- he pads over to the kitchen, as usual routine, he digs out the stash of painkillers, the usual two glasses of water. alucard was never content with one in the morning, with his hangover.

setting the items down the bedside table, granger tucks alucard in to the best of his knowledge- his eyes are still roaming, and he hates that he's allowing it. it takes him great difficulty to shift his view, landing on the picture they both reside in the picture frame- 

'd.. don't go..' it's soft, compared to his gibberish earlier, but it's effective. granger stops on his way out the door, casting a glance at him. alucard's lids aren't even half open, but the marksman glimpses a thin slit of the baby blue in his eyes. 'good night, alucard.' is all he manages to say. 

he's about to head out to rid himself of all the memories and regret this all happened when alucard calls out again. 'do...do you think granger l..loves me like i love him?' the latter sucks in a deep breath. inhales. exhales. tries to cool his pounding heart.

that won't do.

he's drunk, he'll say the random shit ever just being an insufferable idiot. he doesn't mean it. he doesn't mean it he doesn't mean it he doesn-

when his heart rate has decreased to a slightly more normal rate, granger speaks up again, bitterness painting his words, resignedly. 'granger loves you, i'm sure. get some sleep, alucard.' and he leaves, swiftly- the longer he stays here, the more hurt he'll get.

such an insufferable idiot, granger muses to himself. fondness threatens to burst his heart. he's drunk- he won't remember it in the morning anyway. all these years of pining, and granger has long resigned to his fate- has long drowned in his own tears and alcohol- why must life continue to torment him so?

the usual routine, rinse and repeat. again and again. granger can only hope for an end to this madness. alucard dancing around his words, subtle jokes- always getting shitfaced drunk just for granger to haul him back every night-

sooner or later, the novelty will wear off. but for now, it was their thing.

**Author's Note:**

> emotionally constipated idiots? check.  
>  as usual, all kudos and comments are appreciated, thank you for your support ;_; 
> 
> stay safe everyone, quarantine out here really be hitting us hard hmh
> 
> linglong fics? in progress  
> alunger fics? in progress  
> i have some ideas about badang/lapu/gatot, they all give off the same vibe ngl


End file.
